Mask and Region Tools

The Mask and Region Tools can be used to protect or select part of a photo or a design. The tools are accessible from the Mask/Region tool flyout bar and allow you to create shapes that are applied to a mask layer and used to complete an additional operation.

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What can the Mask or Region tools be used for?

These new tools allow you to draw a 'selection region' to indicate you want to apply an effect, say brightness, to just a specific area of your work. Alternatively you can mask an area, using the new 'Mask Painter' tool, to protect an area from being altered. These tools go hand in hand and are closely related - you can draw a selection region, and then convert this into a mask if you want, or vice versa.

Can I use these tools on both photos and vector shapes?

These tools work in a vector way (they are fully editable vector outlines) and work on both photo and vector artwork. For example, you can paint a mask on top of a photo or other vector artwork, and then if you Cut or Delete, it will leave the masked area behind.

Can I feather a region or a mask area ?

Yes, you may wish to do this so the edge of the area is blended with the background.

How is a Region or a Mask selection displayed?

When you paint a region, the area is shown with ‘crawling ants’ dotted outline indicating the region on which the additional operation will be applied to. Selecting to invert a region causes the selected area to become protected and is shown by a ‘crawling ants’ dotted outline around the entire object.

The Mask Painter is used when you need to protect an area. It paints a semi-transparent pink mask over the photo or artwork. (It’s an analog of the physical pink film used to mask artwork in the days before computers.) A mask can also be inverted causing everything other than the masked area to be covered with a pink mask.